Srinagar, 13-11-2024: PDP President Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday warned that reopening settled issues like the Indus Water Treaty could spark fresh tensions and ultimately benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Her comments came after National Conference leader Omar Abdullah highlighted the treaty’s restrictions on Jammu and Kashmir’s capacity to harness its full hydroelectric power potential. Abdullah pointed out that the treaty limits the Union Territory’s power generation due to restrictions on water storage, hindering its ability to meet energy demands.
The Indus Water Treaty, signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 with the World Bank’s facilitation, has allowed for shared management and usage of cross-border rivers, despite enduring political strains. While conceding that Jammu and Kashmir has experienced significant economic and developmental setbacks under the treaty, Mufti noted the treaty has nonetheless endured through wars and other periods of high tension. According to Mufti, any move to reopen or challenge this long-standing agreement could be playing into the BJP’s recent stance of leveraging the treaty as a nationalistic issue, potentially escalating regional tensions.
Addressing Abdullah’s call for revisiting the treaty’s clauses, Mufti said, “Yes, we have experienced losses because we couldn’t fully harness our water resources for power generation, but at the same time, we should ask whether the electricity we currently produce is truly ours.” Mufti argued that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is unique in that the power generated often benefits external parties, leaving local communities to face frequent shortages.
Mufti also placed responsibility on the Abdullah family, recalling that under Sheikh Abdullah’s leadership, the state had ceded the Salar project to the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC). Similarly, in 1997, Omar Abdullah’s father, Farooq Abdullah, transferred control of seven other power projects to the NHPC, further diminishing the state’s authority over its own resources. This transfer of projects has had a long-lasting impact on Jammu and Kashmir’s power autonomy, according to Mufti.
Emphasizing the importance of focusing on immediate, practical solutions, Mufti urged Abdullah and other leaders to concentrate on negotiating the return of at least some of these power projects to Jammu and Kashmir. “When our party formed an alliance with the BJP, we included in our agenda the demand for the return of these projects, and BJP leaders had initially agreed to it,” she said. In her view, reclaiming these assets would help alleviate the state’s energy dependency, which now results in Jammu and Kashmir often buying back its own generated electricity from NHPC at a premium.
Mufti further argued that if the Union government cannot return the control of these power projects, it should at least consider providing financial compensation to Jammu and Kashmir for its role in national energy production. She stressed that, despite being a significant energy producer, the region continues to suffer from chronic electricity shortages, an issue that impacts not only economic growth but also everyday life for its residents.
“We need to be careful about turning the Indus Water Treaty into a political issue, as this only fuels tension and ends up benefiting the BJP rather than serving the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Mufti remarked. She warned that revisiting the treaty could reignite conflicts that would burden the local population, with few, if any, repercussions for states like Punjab or Rajasthan.
In a broader sense, Mufti cautioned that Jammu and Kashmir is already dealing with numerous challenges and has been marred by violence over the past 75 years. “Our people have already borne a heavy price in blood and resources due to ongoing conflicts. By stirring up this issue, we risk worsening that reality, creating additional suffering for those who live here,” she added, urging political leaders to consider the long-term impacts before pushing to reopen issues that have been largely resolved.
Her comments follow Abdullah’s address at a recent conference of power ministers, where he contended that the treaty’s restrictions place Jammu and Kashmir at a disadvantage during peak winter months when energy needs are at their highest. Abdullah argued that the lack of flexibility to build sufficient storage facilities under the treaty’s terms deprives the region of reliable, self-sustaining energy sources. He called on the Centre to provide special compensation, including viability gap funding and equity assistance, to help the Union Territory maximize its hydroelectric potential, a demand he believes would alleviate seasonal energy shortfalls and reduce economic strain on local communities.
As Jammu and Kashmir grapple with limited options for economic development and reliable energy supply, both leaders appear to agree on the need for structural changes to improve the situation. However, while Abdullah advocates for revisiting the treaty to secure increased energy autonomy, Mufti warns that doing so could have unforeseen consequences that extend beyond energy policy. In her view, there is a delicate balance between advocating for the region’s rightful resources and inadvertently fuelling a political narrative that may not serve the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the long run.